It might sound like a cliché but unfortunately this week has gone so fast.  Our last full day of exploration of the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve in Peru was filled with all the required ingredients that have made this expedition a memorable one: great animal sightings, cultural experiences with the local inhabitants of the area, wonderful company, and excellent meals with regional flavors.  

This expedition has been extraordinarily good for wildlife sightings. Today in the morning while exploring “Zapote Caño” we had another great sighting of monk saki monkeys. These strange-looking primates were observed for a long time feeding on the red ripe fruits of a tree. We turned off the skiffs’ engines and had a great look to one of the most unusual monkey species of the Neotropics.

Monk saki monkeys (phitecia monachus) are generally quiet but when heard they make peculiar calls unexpected in monkeys. They vocalize high pitched whines, grunts, and bird-like chirping sounds.   This relatively large monkey weights approximately 2.5 kg (a little less than six pounds) but is appears to be bigger due to the thick fur that covers most of its body. The thick bushy non-prehensile tail is long and characteristic. It has been suggested that this thick fur, unusual in the tropics, protects the monkeys from insect bites. This monkey species is one of my favorites ever. When travelling, they make acrobatic movements extending its arms just like “flying” from branch to branch. The latter behavior is the origin of one of their common names, “mono volador” which is Spanish for flying monkey.

Before lunch time, we had a “pisco sour” demonstration conducted by Delfin II barman Jorge Guerra. To the cheerful tune of a traditional Mexican tune, the well-known “La Cucaracha”, our guests showed their skills shaking the drink behind the bar. It was a lot of fun!

The afternoon was spent exploring Iricahua Caño by skiff rides. This narrow water channel, locally known as “caño”, is covered with a thick vegetation with many bromeliads and huge ficus trees. Several species of colorful birds like macaws and toucans were seen as well as a few monkey troops.

Later in the evening we watched the slide show of pictures of the week and had a great barbeque farewell dinner with music included that was a golden finale for a spectacular and memorable expedition.